The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1887-12-08
Lang Syne in Mexico.
TIE GOLDEN AGE OF THE EARLY MEXICANS.
AN OLLAPODRIDA OF MYTHOLOGY. HISTORY,
TRADITION AND RELIGION.

Correspondence of the Journal.
| TULA, MEXICO, Nov. 1887. Living in this
oldest inhabited city of the Western World. one
seems to have suddenly been transported from
the nineteenth century, away back to the misty
! past. But even imagination cannot revert to its
earliest days, for no man knows who were the
| original builders Of this ancient Nunhcmi,
which the ToltccS found deserted aud falling
to decay when they arrived here, a. ID. GiS,
rechri, tened Tollantzingo, Tollan or Tula. and
made their capital for four hundred years there
after
Just back of modern Tua, on rocky ridge
mile long-callcd ''thc Hill of the Treasure"
HAY be found one of the ,lost interesting
groups of ruins in all Mexico. Ii oyerooks
both the Tua valley and the Valley OF Mexico.
and glorious prospect of green meadow and
purple mountain. Every afternoon we climb
to the summit through thicket> Of nopal and
organ" cactus, to watch the gorgeous sunsets;
and we do not wonder that those early wander
ers tarried here 50 long in their southvard
migration. f0r-regardess of ready-but Man
hemi--it is a charming little pocket of fertility
hidden among the hills
Few sculpturcd stones are to be found row
1.-THE HILL OF THE TREASURE"
not much but opened cellars and massive walls,
with patches of red plaster adheriag to them.
as at Pompeii. Farther hack rbufied in the
thick woods. are the largest of the ruins
ponderous temples and palaces, split every
where by the irreprcssible groWths of the
tropics. flourishng iuAGriantly in the crevices
their roots have made. There have been many
excavations here. and NJ Charney, the French
k,,,.n +l,..1
marvellous temples and palaces But it must
be remembered that eminent >avant is gifted
with vivid imagination, ana though the outer
walls of these structures are really magnificent
IN extent. they We're composed of rooms six
feet by eight.
Scnor Cubas. the Mexican arclaclogi>t. in
an article entitled "RnjA0$ de Ii .lutiyeiu
IVWfR," gives a list OF the most notcW nrthv
antiquities discovered near Tula. and ltho-
graphed figures of the principal sculptures. ill.,
cluding the celebrated zodiac and hcrogiyph,
which have since been set into the walls Of the
great Church. on the Intel of the main en-
trance. There are three colossal sculptures
perhaps of Caryatides->till to be seen III the
little plaza of Tula. Two Of these are stand
ing erect, while the thrd-lyin@ downs in
two pieces and shows that il was formerly
| united by nlorlisc and tcnon.
Near the office of the railroad superintendent
may also be seen an enormous ring of solid
stone. like those found in the ruins of lucatan
and Central America. Just within the door
of the Cathedral is Il beautifully Sculptured
stone, taken from one of the ancient temples.
where it doubtless served some heathen rite.
now used bapti>mal font. In walking
about the sleepy little town one frequently
| trea,ls upon remarkably >rulpturrl stones set
into the shabby rayements. carved. perhaps, a
thousand Years ago.
In this spot. so rich III archaeological wealth.
| man is known to have lived for more than
thirteen hundred chronicled Years, and how
long previously none can tell. Tradition says
that at Iula the great culture hero.
9uETZAItoATL. THE "FEATHERED SERPENT"
developed the civilization that raiSe, the To.-
tees 50 far above TIE level Of their nciShbor>.
ON the face of a nearby cliff bis face is .cliip-
turcl, and in the market-place Of Tula may he
seen his image. carved on Il massive pillar UNI
earthed from Tollantzngo. ancient Tollen or
| lula: Close by is pointed ont that famous
"liiil of Shouting wherein Quetzalcoatl.
over the entire valley
The To!tce> ha! lived in Tula nearly a hum
dre' wears when he 1ir>t appeared amoug them.
which would make his advent about the year
100 lie was Il beGctcent deity. who took no
on himself the shape of a man in order to inn
prove the condition Of the people Of carth--a
sort of Toltec Christ. His name is constructed
from two Words,-Qnet-0l,a Il bird of brilliant
pumage, found in the forests Of Southern
Mexico, and co0U a serpent, also found i'll the
Il
tail. white man. with long. full blonde beard
perfect European in complexion and general
appearance, as different from the Indians
among whom he lived Is can possibly be inn
aglneu.
His stay marked the Golden Age Of the Tol-
tees. Here he built those famous palaces of
silver. crystal and feathers. and here We're the
celebrated gardens of which cotton grew in
various colors, ready dyed for the loon-scar-
let, green, red, blue and yellow. IN his time
corn grew SO strong that a single ear alt
that Il ,nan could carry. Gourtis We're rs long
as mans body, pumpkins a fathom in circum-
ference. and other fruits in similar proportion
lie taught the people many useful art>.-how
to cut that precious green stone the ch0}chi
Htte, how to cast metals. to reckon time, etc.
some say that he was a native OF the east ,
| aud came from over the ocean. Indeed. nearly
every nationality oil earth has been claimed for
| him. from Egyptian to Irish. But hy and by
| there came among the people
AN EvII-NINDED GOD,
named Tezcatlpoc;,, who Immediately became
| very jealous of Quetzalcoatl and determined 10
| drive him from the country. So Tezcatlipoca
| appeared in the form Of an aged man and il-
| formed the ''Feathered Serpent that it was
| the will of the gods that he should be taken to
| Tlapalla. At first QuetZalcoat declined to GO
but after drinking a beverage which the old
man offered him he suddenly changed his mind
and set out at once. followed by many of his
subjects. Many traces of this memorable journey
are still pointed out. Near the city Of Quauh-
| titan, in the Valley of Mexico. he filed Il tree
with stones. which to this day remain fixed in
the trunk; and near the village Of IIalnepautla
he laid his hand upon Il rock and left al i'm
press of it for all time to come. Finally. on
| his way to the coast, he came to Cholula.
where the great pyramid is, and the people
would not let him 90. but made him their
| ruler. Here he remained twenty years. though
| the ChOnlans would have detained him much
longer He did not approve of the sacrifice of
human beings, which some of the tribes per
| formed in their worship. and commanded that
| they offer to the gods on y fruits and flowers.
Finally drawn by some Irresistible impulse.
| he bade adieu to his beloved CholuanS, and
taking with him four noble youths, lie set out
| for the province of Coatzcoalco> on the Gulf
of Mexico. Here he dismissed his attendants
| and launched out upon the waters alone: an'l
| the youths returned to Choula. where they
ruled for many wears. 1t is said that Quetzai-
coatl appeared later on the coast Of iueat;n.
and was wor>hippcd there for many wears I'M
| der the name of kukulcan: and to-day his
| image may be seen. cut into the walls of the
vast ruined elices Of that peninsula.
When he left Tua and Cholula everything
| changed and even the sweet singing birds
every one. followed him to that mysterious
| Kingdom in the east. the land of Tlapallan.
| But he promised his followers that he would
return sometime, and bring back all the pros
perity that had attended his first appearance.
So for hundreds of Years the descendants Of
these people, firmly believing the legend.
watched anXiousy for the promised ''second
coming Of the Plumed Scrpcnt and at last
when the Spaniards appcarcd-hecause they
were white skinned and came from the east
| the eimpe-mndcd natives mistook these cruel
and blood-thrstv brigands for the messengers
of lo'e from the beneticent QuctzaroatI.
| 1t was long after the reign of this deity that
| the order Of mobiles, called
| 1.-THE EAGIES,'
| whose patron was the sun, was established in
| Mexico. | think it was during the reign of
| TiZoc, seventh King of Mexico. who assembled
| the throne about 1880. 1t was at this time that
| the horrible sacrfcial stone came into usc---
THE CUAUmXICALLI DE TIZuC.
The word meaning cmuahHi. ''caglc" from
| the order aforesaid and Nicalli. ''drnking-cup."
| Upon this rock in certain religious festivals,
| the MeNicans sacrificed human victim. to
| whom they gave the name Of messenger to
| the SUM-
That primitive historian. Father Duran. tells
| us all about it. He says that at the sound of
musical instruments they brought forth an In
dian from among the prisoners taken in war.
He was surrounded by i!ustrionS noblemcn.
who painted his limbs red with white stripes.
| Half his face was painted rcd. white plume
| was glued into his hair, and on his back was Il
little bundle which held few eagles feathers,
| Jumps of ochre. pieces of gypsum, candlewood
walking-stlck, very gay with knots and ties of
leather and feathers Of all coors. in the other
| he bore a shield, with five small bundles Of cot
| ton on it.
They led him to the foot Of the staircase as
| cending to the temple and there in loud